OCs in Hoenn
by Kibasgirltsumi
Summary: Okay, guys, no more OCs now. Thanks for all the great trainers! I can't put all of them in the main party, but i will make sure to have cameos of everyone.
1. Torri and Junon: Off in a hurry

**I woke up early, setting my alarm a few minutes earlier than I needed to, just because I didn't want to be late to get my first pokemon. That was the worst thing that could happen. Being **_**late**_**. I shuddered at the thought. What would my Mother say if I were late? Probably something like, 'Well, looks like you're going to be a failure of a trainer. I can only hope you catch pokemon who don't see it right away.' As a Gym Leader, she had high expectations from me. And I only had until Petalburg City to catch a few pokemon that would impress her! If I were lucky, the weather would have stirred up the pokemon from their hiding places. **

**There had been a wild storm last night. The weather in Littleroot town was supposed to be consistent, but there had been a series of rain showers and mild storms lately. I thought it was exiting, and that the streets looked nice when they were a little messy with mud and leaves from the forest.**

**I noticed all the people cleaning and smirked. I couldn't wait to leave. Even if it would rain, today was the day I would leave. I didn't have any super-great ambitions like most rookies did. I guessed that I would figure it out along the way, if there was anything to figure out at all.**

**Though, at that moment, there was one thing I was very curious about. Why was there a huge crowd in front of Professor Birch's lab? **

**I shoved my way to the front, and saw two teenagers with small pokemon at their sides. The girl had a small, blue fish-like pokemon with orange cheeks and a pale tailfin. The water-type didn't seem to like all the attention, by the way he kept trying to get behind his trainer's legs. The guy held up a bright orange chick pokemon with plumy feathers on the top of its head like a flame. Mudkip and torchic, two out of three of Birch's starter pokemon. The third one wasn't in sight, but I was still horrified. I wasn't late!**

"**Excuse me…!" I finally got out of the crowd and in front of the new trainers. "Hey, what's going on? Why do you have your pokemon already?" They exchanged looks of obvious amusement before they addressed me. And when the guy did, his hands were on his hips. A cruel smile was on his face as he said, **

"**You woke up **_**late**_**." **

"**No!" I instantly denied. "No way- I set my clock-"**

"**Half an hour late." The boy chuckled. "Better get yourself a hoothoot next time." He wrapped an arm around the girl, and they made their way around me. "Let's get out of here." I wished I was holding something to throw at them as they sauntered away, but my hands only clenched open air.**

"**Fine." I spat. "I'm late. But I only saw two starter pokemon…" I turned away from the cheering crowd and went inside Birch's lab. It was still air-conditioned, despite the cold weather, and unnaturally quiet. "Hello…?" I called. The spacious first-floor looked empty. I followed the hallway until I reached the back wall. There was a metal desk a few feet from the wall, and in the middle sat a red and white sphere. It seemed misplaced, the way it sat by itself. Oh yeah, the other two pokemon that it was usually with were gone now. I bet it **_**was**_** lonely. I tentatively stretched my hand out, glancing around for the Professor. Not even an assistant was in sight. My hand closed over the cool metal. I lifted it to my face-level and peered at the device. It suddenly twitched to a side, and I nearly dropped it out of surprise. I could feel it moving inside. Awesome…**

**I waited about five minutes and Professor Birch still didn't come back. And that was as long as I could sit still for. **

**I was anxious to leave, and the gray clouds seemed to be getting closer…heavier. I stomped my foot and settled with writing a note. **

'**Dear Professor Birch,**

**I apparently woke up late today, but no need to worry. I came and got my starter pokemon on my own, and am off to explore Hoenn. Look for me on television!' **

**That sounded nice enough. I stuck it to the automatic doors and left the lab, and Littleroot town behind me. **

**I hurried away from town out of eagerness to start my journey, but I soon found myself hurrying deeper into the forest out of fear. I was starting to rethink my plan. What if Birch thought that I had stolen the pokemon? I remembered to write my name, right? I kept thinking about that, but I didn't stop. What good would it do now? Not much, I was convinced.**

**I finally stopped on the outside of a mossy clearing. **

**I parted the thorny branches of a holly bush with my hands and peered through the leaves into the clearing. A pair of zigzagoon dashed across the grass and fallen branches in winding lines. They cleared the debris from the previous night's storm easily, but I kept getting tangled up in it. I pushed my way through the bush, scratching my exposed legs as I trudged into the clearing. Water was dripping down from the leaves, but I was mostly protected from the slow rainfall. "Now…" I pulled the poke'ball from my backpack and held it in front of myself. "I'm so excited to meet you." I let the ball drop from my hands. Upon contact with the grass, the sphere broke open down the middle, and a harsh light lit up the dark clearing. I wasn't expecting that, and it took a few more seconds for my eyes to recover from their momentary blindness. What stood in front of me was everything I had expected, and nothing like my previous images. **

**A two-foot tall gecko pokemon stood a yard away from me. Its skin was made up of many, tiny green scales that gave it a leathery texture, and a fine red underbelly. I recognized the grass-type instantly, though it looked much cooler in person. The Wood-Gecko Pokemon- Treecko. It said nothing, and looked up at me expectantly. "Uh…Hello. I'm Torri." It silently looked around the trees. "Oh, we're in the woods outside of Littleroot town. I left only a few minutes ago." Then, it crossed its arms. "I didn't steal you, really, I'm one of the new trainers. Sorry I didn't really ask your permission earlier, but…" This conversation was feeling very one-sided. I knelt down to its level. "Okay, if you don't want to come with me because I look like an idiot, that's okay. But why don't you come with me to get out of that tiny place? Where we're headed is **_**way**_** bigger." That convinced it. It shrugged, and bunched its muscles. A moment later, it had leaped onto my arm, and was scrabbling up my shoulder. "Want to ride shotgun, okay…I get it." I knew that if the treecko tried to talk to me, I would only hear bits of its name. But that would still be communication. I rambled on as I walked, hoping for some kind of response out of…it. I wished I knew its gender. **

"**So, my Mom will be happy to see you as my first pokemon." Treecko eyed me with large, amber irises. "She's a grass-type Gym leader. She took over the Gym in Petalburg after the old Leader moved away. Changed the Gym's type and everything. Upset quite a few normal-type trainers."**

'**Cko.' It spoke in a hushed whisper. **

"**Oh! You finally talked to me-!" It's thick tail slapped over my mouth. It tasted like leaves. **

**Treecko wanted me to be quiet? I heard a branch snap a few yards ahead. Not a small twig, but a fallen branch. It still must have been strong, but I could hear it snap right in half as a heavy paw fell onto of it. A snarling mass of brown and black fur suddenly flew past me. I screamed through Treecko's tail, and dashed against a tree for cover. The two fighting pokemon rolled into an open space, and separated. They were large, heavyset wolf-pokemon, with streaks of mottled fur going down their back, and patterned faces. Mightyena, the evolved form of poochyena. I didn't need a pokedex to tell me that. We must have stumbled on a territorial dispute or something. I noticed that the larger of the two pokemon was oddly colored. Instead of the normal black and gray, her fur was patterned with shades of brown. And she wasn't alone. About ten poochyena suddenly appeared on the outside of the clearing, yipping loudly, their fur raised. **

'**Tree…cko.' **

"**Yeah. Let's get out of here." I slowly wound my way back around the tree, trying to keep my rapid breathing quiet. When I was a few yards away, I bolted. I dashed back onto the main path, and ran the rest of the way to Oldale Town.**

**Nurse Joy took one look at me and gave me a room. She was smart enough not to ask any questions. **

**I wiped the mud off of my face, and brushed the leaves out of my hair. Then, with Treecko on my shoulder, I sat in front of the screenphone and dialed a familiar number. I waited. The black screen lit up, and a hand pulled away from the screen. It revealed a woman with dark brown hair and brilliant, pensive green eyes.**

"**Hi Mom." I greeted. Her response was, **

"**You look terrible." I sighed, unsurprised. "Have you caught any pokemon on the way to Oldale town?" I shook my head. **

"**I almost got eaten by a pack of mightyena." **

"**I see, so, ah…You chose treecko." The pokemon on my shoulder put its hand on the screen, staring at my Mom curiously. "Oh, what a lovely girl she is too." **

"**How could you tell!" I gasped. Her reply was an accusing glare. **

"**How could you not, Torri?" Treecko looked over her shoulder too. **

"**Sorry…I'm new at this." I saw a flash of movement behind her. "Hey, is that Clover and her kits?" My mother's lips curved into a rare smile. **

"**Take a look." She moved the screen to the side. A pretty grass pokemon, which looked like a beige fox with leaf ears and a leaf for a tail, sat on her haunches while a pair of small Eevee rolled around in front of her. It was the Leafeon's last litter, and the grass-fox looked eager enough to be done with it. My mother gasped. "Oh, not again. Clover, where's your third one?" The Leafeon let out an annoyed growl, and moved to the side. Another Eevee kit was growing fiercely at his mother's leaf tail. Whenever it moved, he would backpedal, then slowly crouch back up to it, his furry collar on end. When he got close enough to get a bite in, his mother let out a threatening hiss, and the kit would scramble away. He would return a few moments later to try again. If that didn't make me happy, my mother then said, "That one, Torri, is supposed to be yours." I beamed. **

"**Oh! He is so cute! Wait, what do you mean,**_** supposed**_** to be?" She grimaced. **

"**He's going to have a lot of energy. Can you handle him?" My mother's faith in me was astounding. **

"**Of course! All he needs to do is run around a little. And look how determined he is!" **

"**I'd say stupid. He's been nipped twice already. And Clover bites hard." The Leafeon hissed at the remark. She sounded rather testy. "No, I don't need you to prove it dear." My mother dismissed her annoyed pokemon. My mother could understand pokemon, as did most trainers. It took a while, but rookies were supposed to learn Poke'speech sooner than later too.**

**I hung up and picked the treecko up in front of me. **

"**Okay, girl. I was thinking, you need a nickname." She went limp in my arms and shrugged. "There was a ship I went on when I was little. It had a cool name; The S.S. Junon. What do you think?" Instead of shrugging, she nodded. "Okay. Nice to meet you, Junon."**


	2. Torri and Zack: New teammates

**I hoped that no more packs of mightyena would be around as I left the next morning. Junon once again took to my shoulder, keeping one eye open as a sort of lookout. After a few minutes, I began to doubt that she would see anything. I desperately wanted to catch a pokemon, just to show my Mom that I wasn't entirely inept at being a trainer. It only took about half an hour's walk to reach Petalburg from Oldale, and I was almost there. Strangely enough, no trainers were on the main road today either. I'd expected to be asked to a battle right after I left, but I hadn't even seen a trainer yet! **

**Then, a mess of brown fur dropped from a nearby tree.**

**Not what I'd been expecting, but it sure was interesting. Junon opened both her eyes as I approached it. It was a poochyena. But just like the mightyena I'd seen last night, it had a coat of brownish gray fur and green eyes. Except this one's fur was brushed back in all directions and patchy. Covered in scratches too. It let out a weak growl and circled the tree it had fallen out of. It gave a determined bark and leapt against the trunk. Its claws left patterns of scratches in the bark as it tried to scrabble up to the lowest branch. Then it slipped and toppled backwards into the grass. It whined loudly, and was still. **

"**What is it doing?" I asked myself, and hurried over. It looked like it had been in a fight, or something. Why had it been trying to get into a tree though? I reached out, unsure as to how I should handle it, and its eyes snapped back open. I pulled my hand back in just enough time to avoid being bitten. It struggled to its feet, its fur rising up threateningly. Junon took this as her cue to intervene, and jumped in between us. The poochyena didn't like the idea, but dug his paws into the grass to prevent himself from running. Junon looked at me for instructions, and I held out my hands. "But he's already hurt! You still want to fight him?" Junon, of course, shrugged. I felt around one of the front pockets in my backpack and took out a metal sphere. I stared at the red and white metal, then looked back at the wounded pokemon. I thought of my Mom at Petalburg, so close by. I couldn't arrive empty-handed. Before I could think about it even more, I tossed the pokeball through the air. It bounced off the poochyena's back, then split open down the middle. The wild pokemon was covered with a red aura, then its body faded into a translucent light. Then, the ball snapped shut and rolled into the grass. It shook once, only once, and was still.**

**I expected the way back to be simple enough, since I couldn't be five minutes outside of the city. But those last few meters were insane. Trainers flanked the sides of the path, battling with their newly captured pokemon. It looked fun enough, but I wanted to get the poochyena to the pokemon center soon. I would come back here afterwards and-**

"**Hey you!" A teenage boy, maybe a year or so younger than me, suddenly barred my path with his arms. **

"**What the heck!" I snapped, nearly crashing into him. "You can't just come flying out at people like that!" **

"**You're a trainer!" He declared. **

"**So? I'm in a hurry right now, so-" He took out a pokeball and backed away from me by a few yards. **

"**So I challenge you!" He yelled. Man this kid was annoying! **

"**I said I was busy!" That didn't matter at all to him. He chucked the pokeball a yard in front of himself and a pokemon formed out of the light. A small, dark blue bird, with a white chest and a thin, split tail. It shook out its feathers and flapped into the air. I was in the battle whether I liked it or not. Junon hopped off of my shoulder and glanced back at me. "Oh, okay. We'll make this quick!" I was a rookie, and I hadn't even trained with Junon up until now. I hoped Junon was ready for this, more than I was. **

'**Taillow!' The bird chirped, flying in quick circles out of Junon's reach. **

"**Okay, Taillow! Use quick attack!" **

"**Uh- watch out Junon! Dodge!" The treecko didn't need my advice for that. She was already out of the way, awaiting a command. **

"**Again!" My opponent snapped, and the grass-type wasn't expecting such a quick return. Junon was hit in the chest by the speedy bird, and she fell backwards a few feet. **

"**Uh, wait! Try a pound attack!" As the taillow came around again, confident of his agility, Junon whipped her heavy tail in a semi-circle, and caught the pokemon in the face. The taillow screeched, flapping rapidly to get more distance. "Quick, try it again!" I called, exited that the attack had been so effective. Junon dashed forward, on all fours, and leapt upwards. She spun in the air, and whipped her tail around again. **

"**Taillow- peck attack!" Junon cried out as the small bird drilled its beak into the soft flesh of her tail. The bird went flying through the air when Junon's heavy tail hit him, but Junon stumbled backwards, holding her tail gingerly off the grass. **

"**Are you okay?" Junon hobbled a little more, then straightened up. The taillow was gliding back into the fray too. "Okay! Nice try, wait for it on the ground, I don't think it works when you're in the air too." My opponent was getting flustered. I bet he hadn't been in many battles either. I guessed that he'd just won one, and was overconfident that he could beat anyone now. **

"**Uh-um, c'mon, use peck again!" The taillow straightened out, then dove downwards to the gecko pokemon, pointed like an arrow. **

"**Okay, here he comes. Ready…now!" Junon ducked below the bird in a somersault, easily timing his speed, and lashed her tail as she came out of the spin. The bird was knocked out of the air like Junon had just hit a baseball, and the other trainer hurried to catch his pokemon as he drifted down like a paper airplane. "Take that!" I cheered, and ran over to my treecko. I could see a proud smirk as I lifted her up back onto my shoulder. "Yeah, that's right, you can gloat a little bit. You earned it." She nodded, then pat my backpack. **

'**Cko, tree.' She reminded me. I only heard bits of her name, but the message was still understood. **

"**Oh yeah! The poochyena! Let's hurry!" I ran the rest of the way to Petalburg, sprinting past any more trainers who looked like they could use a battle. I felt guilty that it had taken so long already, I wasn't going to waste anymore time with other trainers. **

**I handed poochyena's pokeball to Nurse Joy at the Petalburg pokemon center and went to sit at the waiting room. Junon hung lazily over my shoulder, a band-aid stuck over her tail. **

"**Thanks for earlier. The battle and everything. I'm still new to this, I mean, you are too, but you did great without my help." She opened one large eye. I swear I could hear a voice say, 'No problem.' when she opened her mouth to speak. **

"**Wait, Junon? Was…that you?" But the grass pokemon was already asleep. **

**Half an hour later, Nurse Joy returned with Poochyena's poke'ball. I took it back and thanked her. As she turned to leave, a thought struck me. **

"**Uhm, Nurse Joy?" she turned around with a curious smile. **

"**Yes?" **

"**Well, I was wondering, do poochyena live in trees?" She laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd heard in days. "Uhh…no then?"**

"**No, Torri. Poochyena do live with their packs in the forest, but not in trees. Though, they do climb into trees on occasion. When they're lost, or hurt. They go into trees and wait for another pack member to find them." My heart dropped. **

"**Oh…" So, I hadn't really helped either. I'd thought that I was helping the pokemon too, since it had been hurt. It would have been an easy target for anyone else, and…he could have gotten even more hurt. But I knew that my true motive was to impress my mother. Look at the cool pokemon I got! Check out its coloring!**

**But I'd just been selfish. If I'd left him alone, he'd have been rescued by his pack. All I'd done was take him from his home. **

**I walked back outside onto a patch of grass and clicked the button on the sphere. It enlarged to about the size of an orange, and I clicked the button again. The brown pokemon appeared on the grass, his fur clean and sleek compared to what it had been like before. His green eyes were bright and calculation, to say the least, as they stared up at me. **

"**Hey. I'm the girl from the forest, remember?" He sat on his haunches, but made no sound. I sighed, rolling his pokeball over in my hands. "Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't know you were waiting for your friends to come and help you. I wanted to show my Mom that I could catch a pokemon, and you were hurt, so I took you with me." He gave me an accusing, sideways glance.**

'**Yena…pochey.' He barked. **

"**But, if you want to go back, go ahead." I quickly explained. "I'll let you go right now if you want." He glanced at the road that led back to the forest, and I placed his pokeball onto the grass by his small, dark brown paws. There went my first pokemon. "You have strong jaws, all you have to do is break this, and you'll be wild again." I took a few steps back and forced a smile. "Sorry for, y'know, everything. I hope you find your pack." His ears perked up, and his eyes found me again. He looked back into the trees. "See you around then." I turned away and looked around the streets for my Mom's Gym. I saw it pretty quickly. It was surrounded by newly planted trees, and was two-stories high. I recognized my Mom's taste in decoration. **

'**Yena!' I spun on my heel to see the brown poochyena dashing back my way. It held the pokeball in its jaws, but not with any more force than was necessary. He reached my feet, and dropped the ball onto my shoe. It rolled to the side, and he pawed it back onto my foot. 'Ye…na!' **

"**What? Why aren't you heading back?" He shook his head. I followed his stare back into the trees, and then he snorted in disgust. "Do you…not want to go back?" He flicked his ears, and nudged the ball again. I felt that hopeful, exited feeling rising in my stomach. "You want to come with me…?" He barked, and jumped to all fours. Then, Junon seemed to wake up, and slid off my shoulder. She stepped up to him and he gave her a curious sniff. Then Junon turned around and offered him her tail. The dog pokemon barked excitedly, and nuzzled his face against her tail. It looked like they would get along okay.**

**I entered the Gym, the poochyena at my heels and Junon over my shoulder. **

"**Don't worry." I reassured them. "We're not fighting her today." I followed a patch of grass to a large, open space in the Gym. The entire place looked like a piece of jungle taken from the northern forests by Fortree City. Plants hung from the high-up ceiling, and trees made natural canopies above out heads. All the ferns and bushes seemed to be moving too, as if they were alive. When my leg brushed a large yellow flower, it let out a startled cry and ran further into the foliage. Sure the Gym was pretty, but it was kind of creepy too. Like all the stupid plants had eyes and were watching you. Defiantly my Mother's Gym. **

**It was much more massive than it had appeared from the outside, and stairs led up to a high walkway above the main arena.**

"**Now, finish it with solar beam!" I recognized that commanding, frightening voice. I hurried along the path, not daring to stray from it, and came out on the sidelines of the arena. A teenage boy stood on the left side, sweaty and panicked. I caught the glimpse of a torchic running around the field, then a beam of yellow light consumed it. I actually fell backwards. **

**On the opposite side of the arena stood a tall woman with wavy brown hair. She wore a simple red t-shirt, and khaki pants, and there was a bored expression on her face as her pokemon wreaked havoc upon the new arena. The solar beam attack left a wide ditch in the soil, the torchic in the middle of it. The teenager dashed out and picked up his small fire-type as the Leader's pokemon walked back to its trainer. It was a dark blue pokemon, with a giant red flower in its head. I recognized the vileplume. The Leader gave the grass-type a few kind pats, and let the pokemon hop back into the trees. **

"**You're pathetic!" She snapped. "You and your pokemon have not bonded at all! Come back to this Gym when you have some more badges, and hopefully some new ideas too." The rookie glared up at her before running off the arena. His shoulder hit mine as he passed, and I recognized him as the boy from Littleroot town. The one who's gotten the torchic, and mocked me for being late. "And you! Have you come to challenge me too!" I faced the imposing woman and forced a smile. **

"**Not for a while." Her face softened, only a little, when she saw me. **

"**Torri. I see you made it here in one piece." I stepped along the torn up soil to greet the woman. "And I see you managed to catch a poochyena." She tapped her chin. "Not that impressive, but I suppose it shows you can at least get other pokemon to accept you." The poochyena didn't like this remark. I could tell, because he tried to leap up and bite her. I snatched him in mid-air and pulled him to my chest. **

"**You are so exited to meet her, I know!" In a mutter, I added, "That's my mom, okay. Try to be nice-hey!" That bit of information seemed to upset him even more. He narrowed his eyes at her and growled a warning. **

"**Does he have a name?" My mom asked. Oh. I hadn't thought of that yet. He'd only just decided to come with me. I'd forgotten all about names. **

"**Zack." I stuttered. Her emerald eyes narrowed. **

"**After that character from the video game you liked so much?" I nodded. **

"**Yeah." I could see the poochyena pondering the name. "Yeah, after the great warrior! He was kind, and strong, and very good looking too." The poochyena seemed to like this.**

"**But, doesn't he die in the end?" My mom pointed out. **

"**That's not the point!" I quickly interjected. Luckly, the poochyena didn't seem to mind either. He pulled a paw up to his mouth and licked a bit of fur into place. "Oh, and this is Junon." My treecko straightened up on my shoulder and nodded. At least she understood to behave. My Mom sighed lazily and started towards the back of the gym. **

"**C'mon then. I suppose you should meet your new pokemon." **


	3. Torri and Ven: Friendship

**The old Gym had numerous back rooms, though most of them had been torn up during the remodel. My Mom did decided to keep a few for a training room, and a kind of office. When I said office, I meant, it had a phone. And, sort of a desk, but no chair. She wasn't much for furniture. Even our house in Littleroot town was pretty empty. But in the office sat my Mom's prize leafeon, Clover, and her litter of eevee kits.**

"**I was worried that you wouldn't get your eevee, Torri." She murmured, bending down to scratch her pokemon along her spine. **

"**Why not?" I asked, following her through the paper tea-doors and into her office. **

"**Well, I decided that if you hadn't caught any pokemon, I wouldn't give you this eevee, because he needs a **_**smart**_** trainer." I hugged Zack so hard that he started to growl and squirmed from my arms to walk on the floor. He was instantly barreled over by a fluffy pokemon. Zack and the eevee kit rolled across the floor, growling at each other, fur raised. I nearly leapt on them to intervene, but I realized that they were playing. Zack had pinned the eevee on the carpet, genuinely annoyed, then the kit stretched out its neck and licked Zack across the nose. Their brown tails were wagging back and forth like fans. **

"**This is the one I get, right?" I asked, kneeling down beside the mass of brown fur. **

"**Yes, that's him." My mom sounded rather grim, as if she were sending the eevee off to die. "Clover named him Ventus. Ven for short." **

"**Pokemon have names? I mean, not just nicknames?" My mom made this sound between a sigh and groan. I sure was impressing her. **

"**Yes, Torri. Though most pokemon accept the nickname their trainer gives them, they once had their own name." **

"**Well, I like Ven." I nodded in approval. I did like the name, but I could also see the leafeon watching me. She wasn't even trying to be discreet about it. "It's a good name, Clover." **

**I held my hand out to the eevee, Ven, and let him sniff my upturned palm. He was tentative for about three seconds, then he was all over me, licking and scratching hello. He didn't like Junon very much though. When the grass-type approached to greet the new team member, the eevee recoiled against Zack. Junon looked at me for an answer, and I pat her shoulder in reassurance. They wouldn't **_**all**_** get along instantly, right? **

"**He's very playful still, but he's ready to be put into battles and trained. Nothing too tough for now though. Take it easy with him." **

"**I was thinking about taking a few days to train in the woods, or by the beach." I explained, taking turns rubbing Zack and Ven under the chin. I was realizing how Zack especially liked that. He didn't seem like the type to just roll over for attention, so it was cute how he was practically falling over in bliss.**

"**That's not a stupid idea." She replied. Never would she say that was a "good" idea. My mom could be so stubborn about that kind of thing. You could tell just by looking at her. One would think she was a fire-type Gym leader by the shirt she was wearing. All because she was too stubborn to wear green instead. Maybe not stubborn actually, she just didn't see the reason to.**

"**Try not to get lost." My Mom called, watching from the doors as I started down the road. Junon clung to my shoulder as Ven and Zack chased each other down the road a few feet ahead of me. **

"**I will try."**

**The main road led out of the city and right onto a grassy beach. I could make out trainers battling down the road, and pokemon circling over the shallow waves. Then, down at the end of the strip of beach, I saw a patch of dark trees. Petalburg Woods. I was sure that lots of cool pokemon lived there, and where there were pokemon, there were trainers. **

**I hadn't been planning to catch any new pokemon for a while though, since half my team was already filled up. I could only carry three more with me, and I wanted to take my time doing it. **

**But then I saw one of the cutest pokemon ever. A bright orange dog pokemon, with a furry mowhawk and black stripes. And it was right in front of me, sniffing around in the sand. I'd seen the police with them- it was a growlithe. I took out another pokeball and started to approach it, taking small steps so it wouldn't notice me. Junon was quiet as always, and Zack picked up on it quickly too, crouching low beside me. But Ven…**

**He saw us "stalking" the pokemon, and stiffened up, on alert. Then, as if he could no longer contain himself, he let out a shrill bark. The growlithe lifted its head. Sure, it looked cute, but he wasn't very friendly. His fur rose, making him nearly twice his size, and he let out a fierce growl, that emitted heat waves that were visible from even where I was.**

**I clenched the pokeball, then yelled, "You're mine!" and threw it. The growlithe didn't even try to run. He stood still as the ball hit him in the side and opened. As easy as catching Zack! But the pokeball made a weird, shrill clicking noise, then broke in half instead. **

"**What!" I gasped. The puppy pokemon barked once more, then bolted. I left the broken pokeball in the sand and chased him. "Wait! I was to be a friend-whoa!" Sure, I wanted to be a friend, but it looked like he already had one. **

**A black, doglike pokemon suddenly bared my path. He had an orange muzzle and chest, and strange metal cropping along his back and legs. Its fur was too short to rise up, but he was plenty intimidating. Especially how he spewed fire to the side as if he were spitting. **

"**Hello there…Uhm, I'm sorry for chasing your friend, I didn't know that-hey!" My apology was not convincing enough, because the large pokemon dove in and clamped his jaws around my foot. I screamed as I fell over, trying to shake my shoe off my foot so he could just have it and go. The pokemon wasn't actually biting skin or anything, but it was frightening enough, especially when my shoe started to smoke as if he were burning it. Then, with a quick tug, I fell backwards, and he had my shoe. The growlithe followed him at his side, as he raced down the beach. They turned behind a sand dune, and out of my view. Junon had popped out of my backpack, with a confused, but alert look on her face.**

"**I'm okay…" I sighed, patting her tail. "Whatever, he can **_**have**_** my shoe. Just as long as he didn't take my foot with it." I thought that was over with. Zack started pawing my leg, and let out a low whine. "What?" He ran in a tight circle, then started towards the sand dune as well. After a little ways, he stopped, and barked at me, then continued running. I understood quickly enough, because no one was chasing Zack's tail. I was missing Ven! **


	4. Casey and Bone: Companions

**I tossed my bag on the sand and followed it onto the ground. I sighed, and stared up at the darkening sky. Today had been hot. Too hot. Sure, the sun had given my fire-type pokemon an advantage in battle today, but now I was covered in sweat and the sand stuck to my arms. I was ready for the cool air of night. A dark black pokemon walked over to me after scouting around, and laid down with his back touching my arm. I reached out and stroked my fingers along the metal bone structures that protruded from his back. He turned his neck around and licked my hand. My loyal houndour, Bone. With me since day-one, he always checked around before I went to sleep outside. He was a little paranoid about my safety, but it was out of love, so I didn't mind. **

"**Good job today." I said, patting his neck. "Hey, guys, how about we camp out here tonight?" And when I said camp out, I didn't mean with a tent. I didn't even carry one with me. I wanted to be able to see the stars. My bag lit up and two more pokemon joined me on the beach. Another fire-dog pokemon, a growlithe, and a fluffy fox pokemon, eevee. They stretched out and curled up on the sand too, silently agreeing on our campsite. Ember, my growlithe, coughed aloud, and spat out a breath of fire that lit up a washed up log near my feet. I had to pull my feet away to make sure my ancient sneakers didn't catch aflame, but I appreciated the warmth. I pulled Ember close to my chest, using him like a furry heater, then fell asleep in the moshpit of pokemon. My eevee, named Lua, kept focusing on the moon, as rainclouds passed it by, her brown eyes as large as the moon itself. **

**The next morning, I woke to Bone pawing at my arm. He had his claws tucked in, making sure not to scratch me, but his paws were large enough to move me all over the place with each push. **

"**What…?" I groaned, not yet awake. I heard Ember bark at me, then Bone dropped a left-foot sneaker onto my chest, and sat expectantly. "What's this, Bone?" A moment later, a tan pokemon scrabbled through the sand in pursuit of the houndour. Lua? No, it was an eevee, but not mine. It charged after Bone, yipping fiercely. Bone was unfazed. He put up a large paw and covered the eevee's face to silence the barking. With an annoyed flick, he pushed the pokemon into the sand and pinned it into the dirt. The eevee struggled nobly, but was no match for the amused dark-type. "I see you made a friend. But this doesn't explain the shoe." I doubted the eevee was wild, since they were so rare now. I knew there was a breeder in Petalburg city, doubling as a stupid grass-type gym leader. She probably misplaced this one. He looked only a bit younger than Lua. **

"**Ven!" A girl's worried cry echoed over the sand. I saw her a moment later, running awkwardly with only one shoe on. It matched the one Bone had gifted me. I groaned, and took the shoe in my hand and stood. The girl saw me when I waved with her shoe, and hurried over. **

**Meanwhile, the eevee had stopped struggling under Bone's paw. He had frozen, open staring at Lua. The female eyed him coldly as he stared. **

'**What are you looking at?' Lua barked. Ven gaped openly, making Lua's fur rise. **

'**You're pretty.' Lua's eyes narrowed, and with a loud 'hmph!', she whipped him in the face with her tail and stormed off to her trainer's side. 'Wait! My name's Ven! What's yours-ow!' Bone had added more pressure, lowering his muzzle down to the normal-type's ear. **

'**Talk to her again and I'll bite your face off.' He warned in a low growl.**

**I held out the sneaker to the girl, but she ran right past me to rip her pokemon away from Bone. She pulled him to her chest and backed away to stand beside her two other pokemon, a Treecko and a brown Poochyena.**

"**Sorry. Bone can be…exuberant sometimes." I apologized dryly. This girl's cloths were new, and her hair was clean and brushed. A rookie. I mean, I was too, sort of, but I knew that I'd been on the road longer than her. **

**She eyed my houndour nervously, then nodded. **

"**It was probably my fault really. I think I tried to catch his friend." Ember stepped out from behind me and barked. "I'm sorry!" She stammered. "I really thought you were wild!" Ember snorted, and backed away to sit beside Lua. "And **_**you**_**!" She snapped, lifting the eevee in front of her. She held him at an arms-length away in the air and glared at him. "Don't you ever run off like that again! You could have gotten hurt if he were wild!" **

'**Vee?' He crooned, shrugging. Then, his eyes drifted back to Lua. She put him in the crook of her arm, and faced me with a smile. **

"**Sorry. I'm Torri. You met Ven already. These two are Junon and Zack." I nodded, trying not to grimace. Great, I bet she wanted to know my name and everything too now. "What's your name?" **

"**Casey. Bone, Ember, and Lua." My pokemon disregarded her rather coldly. Oh well, I couldn't **_**make**_** them like her. She flashed another smile. **

"**I haven't really seen many of those types around here before. Did you catch them from somewhere else?" **

"**Yeah, not from Hoenn." I could tell that exited her, but before she could ask any more questions, I waved. "I have to go now. I'm trying to…uhh…" She kept staring at me with those expectant green eyes! Just like a plant! It made it hard to think… **

"**Are you going to the next city?" She guessed. **

"**Yeah. I'm in a rush, y'know." I did my best to look alert and ready to go, despite the fact that I still had sand on half of my face from napping all morning. **

"**Okay…It was nice meeting you. If you're a trainer, we might see each other In the next city. I'm heading that way too-hey! Want to go together? I mean, we're both heading that way, through the forest right?" **

"**Uhm…Well…" **

"**It's better than traveling alone, right?" Man, this girl was persistent. And I actually had learned to value what time alone I got. Then again…it had been a while since I'd hung out with anyone on the road…**

**I nodded before I agreed to it. Her face brightened up. **

"**Cool!" She shoved her sneaker back on, not even bothering to untie the laces. **


	5. Bone and Zack: Working Together

**~I don't know why everyone hates the bold font! I thought it made it easier to read, but anyways, I'm going to be consistent and keep it.~ **

**After Torri and I made it to the entrance of the forest, I'd determined a few things about her. First of all, she was new to this pokemon trainer thing. She didn't really know how to train her three pokemon, despite her determination. And secondly, she could be rather…chatty. Maybe it was just because she wanted to get to know me, but I didn't know how to respond to half of them. Like, 'Ever been in the cave on Dewford? I heard there were so many zubat there that it's impossible to get to the end without going crazy!'**

**I swear, she was convinced that we would be traveling all over Hoenn together, when I barley saw I us getting out of the forest as a team.**

**Bone walked beside me as usual, while my other two relaxed in my backpack away in their pokeballs. Well, Lua had been walking with us too, until Torri's eevee joined her. That one, Ven, already had the eye for her. It was amusing because even though he was unsure how to approach her, he was just as determined as his trainer to get to know someone. Despite Lua's cold shoulder. I finally recalled her into her pokeball when she started clawing up my leg to get away from him. **

**Torri settled with keeping her shiny poochyena out with her, since he was the only one who really didn't mind being around Bone. My houndour had that effect on other pokemon sometimes. Her treecko didn't seem to mind, but she had been watching him the whole time too. **

"**Hey, look." She pointed ahead of us at a cluster of trees, their branches overlapping to form a kind of natural archway. Past that, I could barely see into the forest. It got pretty dark when the trees were grown so close like that, the way they blocked out the sun. Might as well have been a cave. At least the zubat preferred the nighttime. I didn't want Torri to go into a rant about them in the woods too. **

"**Yep. Petalburg Woods." I put my hands on my hips and started forwards, watching the leaves rustle. I'd heard that a flock of strong flying-types lived in there. I'd never had a flying-type, and I was eager to see if the rumors were true. **

**But…along with bird pokemon, I was sure to find a mess of grass-types in there too.**

**Ugh.**

"**Come on, I'm excited to get away from Petalburg." She urged me along. I followed Torri casually. **

"**Why are you exited?" She laced her hands behind her head. **

"**My mom lives in Petalburg. I keep looking back and think I see her." I permitted a soft chuckle. **

"**She scary?" Torri turned on me, her eyes wide. Now that was funny. **

"**Oh yeah, Casey." **

"**Hey, you two girlies!" We both spun to see a pair of bug-catching trainers approaching us. I grimaced, as did Torri. **

"**What do you want?" I called. The two boys grinned, and placed their bug-catching boxes on the ground. **

"**We're in charge of the entrance to the Petalburg woods! If you want to enter, you have to beat us!" Then, they opened the crates down the middle and released a pair of squirming bug-pokemon. There was a squishy-looking worm with a red back and spiked end. Not too imposing, but the other boy released a nasty-looking moth pokemon. Wurmple, easy, but dustox was annoying. Besides, I didn't feel up to a battle. I mean, they hadn't even asked us formally. I put my hands on my hips and frowned. **

"**You're not in charge of anything. Now move it." The grinned confidently. **

"**No way! Wanna pass, you've got to win!" **

"**Seriously, Casey, they don't listen to reason!" Torri piped in. I groaned aloud, and glanced behind me. Bone leapt up instantly. **

"**Okay boy, you're up." Torri glanced down at the small pokemon at her heels. **

"**Okay…Zack hasn't had a chance to fight yet." Great. Had she even been in a battle before now? I bet I could get through those two punks one way or another, but I'd rather not lose. **

**The dark-type shook out its fur and bounded forwards to stand beside Bone. Zack and Bone eyes each other briefly- I wasn't worried about their teamwork. Besides, Bone could handle these bugs easily with his fire attacks. **

"**Dustox- use silver wind!"**

"**Wurmple, attack with poison sting!" Zack and Bone bounded away from each other to avoid the attacks, circling their opponents at a run. **

"**Okay! Bone, get that dustox with an ember attack!" Bone really didn't need my direction for that. He reared his head and coughed up a flurry of glowing orange sparks from his throat. But the dustox was quick, and it flew low to avoid the spray. Without a trainer's command, it ducked and flapped its wings rapidly right in Bone's face. The houndour coughed, backing up quickly while shaking his head. A mess of bluish dust was scattered across his eyes. Sleep powder? Oh, great! Bone wasn't about to drop, but he was distracted enough for the bug pokemon to get a jump on him. It flew right above him, stretching out its wings for another try at silver wind. But the pokemon was knocked from the air before it had the chance to initiate the attack! The brown blur pinned it to the ground momentarily, before it countered with a sloppy wing attack. Torri's poochyena howled in shock, stumbling backwards. But the dustox was wide open! **

"**Bone!" I called to my drowsy partner. "Hurry, use ember- right in front of you!" Before dropping to the grass, Bone stubbornly attacked again, stunning the moth pokemon with unexpected flames. That ember attack was going to become a flamethrower in no time! The dustox drifted to the ground, steaming from its wings. **

**Zack stood, shaking dust from its pelt, unaware of the wurmple closing in from behind. But Bone saw it. Even though the tiny bug had been tackled a few times, it reared up to surprise Zack. Bone sauntered over, at a lazy jog, and clamped his mouth around its back. It went limp in his jaws, so horrified that it couldn't even move. Bone tossed the pokemon to its trainer's feet, watching with satisfaction as the worm remained still. **

**Bone yawned and curled up right there in the grass. Zack bounded forward, his tail wagging, and barked something to Bone. The houndour barley lifted his head in acknowledgment, and shrugged. Then the poochyena hurried over to his trainer, who was beaming. **

"**Zack! See, see! You were great!" Torri praised, lifting the brown pokemon into her arms. The poochyena looked slightly annoyed as she hugged him, but he bore with it. Well…she hadn't been a drag after all. Even if she was a brand new rookie, she wasn't half bad at battling. At least she hadn't made me get violent with those two nerds. **

**I knelt down beside Bone and scratched his along the shoulders. **

"**Good job. I actually think you could use the rest, you know?" He gave a low grumbling kind of bark, before shaking off the rest of the sleep powder. "No? Okay, but if you get tiered-" In response, he lifted himself to his paws and started into the woods himself. "I guess not then." The two bug-catchers grumbled something about how we could be an acceptation, but let us pass by them and into the Woods.**


End file.
